CARTERET, N.J. – Thomas Blumenfeld has taken his next step toward becoming the greatest – and first-ever boxer of note – from the state of Vermont.
A 27-year-old welterweight from Springfield, Vermont, Blumenfeld made light work of the previously unbeaten Christopher Rodriguez, stopping him at 2 minutes, 18 seconds of the third round at the Performing Arts Center in Carteret, New Jersey.
Blumenfeld, 9-0 (8 KOs), rocked Rodriguez, 13-1-1 (11 KOs), with a two-punch combination in the third, sending Rodriguez wobbling around the ring before referee Eric Dali made the correct decision to protect a fighter who could no longer defend himself.
Blumenfeld, who is managed by New Jersey-based attorney Daniel Gonzalez, was the aggressor early on, pushing the fight against his fellow lefty.
Blumenfeld used his feints, both with the hands and feet, to throw off Rodriguez’s timing and set up his own jab. Blumenfeld rocked Rodriguez with a left uppercut followed by a left hook around the side in the second round, which drew a concerned look from Rodriguez.
The fight continued to get ugly for Rodriguez in the third as his desperate volleys left him in line from shorter counters. It was obvious at that point the end was near.
Blumenfeld said the win was made even more special by the birth of his older brother Oliver’s first child, a daughter, earlier in the day.
Blumenfeld, who was born in Montreal, was a member of the Canadian national team as an amateur, traveling to Russia, Puerto Rico, Finland and Australia, among other locations, to box when he was younger.
The fight headlined a card promoted by Rising Star Promotions, which aired live on DAZN.
Julio Sanchez III turned pro after just one amateur fight last November. Maybe he should have had a couple more before jumping into the paid ranks.
The popular junior welterweight from Pleasantville, New Jersey, suffered his first defeat, losing a split decision to the previously winless Stephen Barbee. Two judges scored the fight for Barbee by the tallies of 40-36 and 39-37, while the third had it 39-37 for Sanchez, who dropped to 1-1 as a pro.
Barbee, now 1-4 as a pro, showed his greater experience – which consisted of nine amateur fights before he turned pro last August – using his jab to barge in wildly and rough Sanchez up inside. Sanchez, 23, showed little aptitude for boxing beyond a sharp jab, which rarely was followed by anything stiffer.
Barbee, who had former IBF lightweight titleholder Paul Spadafora in his corner, appeared to break Sanchez’s nose in the second round with a jab near the end of the round. Sanchez, perhaps sensing the urgency, opened up with his first power punches of the fight, but the damage had been done.
Barbee continued to push forward in the third round, not at all distracted by his trainer courting ejection by New Jersey Boxing Commissioner Larry Hazzard for repeatedly getting off his corner stool while the rounds were ongoing.
The fight continued to spin out of control for Sanchez, as each punch from Barbee projected blood from his nostrils into the ringside seats, with a jab square on the nose drawing a concerned groan from the crowd, while an overhand right painted the ring near the red corner.
The 32-year-old Barbee, of Chicago, shouted “Thank you, New Jersey!” before celebrating at center ring with Spadafora when the scores were read.
Two Philadelphia-based boxers promoted by unified IBF/WBA welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis scored wins on the undercard.
Junior featherweight prospect Dennis Thompson, 6-0 (4 KOs), and welterweight upstart Ismail Muhammad, 8-0 (4 KOs), both picked up wins. Southpaw Muhammad, 23, outboxed the 30-year-old Jose Perdomo, 6-6 (3 KOs), of Uruguay, to win by unanimous scores of 60-54 on two cards and 59-55 on the third.
Thompson, 19, looked impressive in handling Rafael Castillo, 2-6 (1 KO), of The Bronx, dropping him once in the first round before body shots broke Castillo down and convinced him to retire on his stool. Castillo once fought former featherweight titleholder Raymond Ford in 2019, losing a four-round decision when Ford was 3-0, after which Castillo was out of the ring for five years before returning last December in the Dominican Republic.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
